Your Guide to Software Selection

Do You Need a Separate Social or Mobile CRM?

Here’s something you already knew: customer relationship management is important. As Base CRM reported, 78% of consumers have stopped short of making an intended purchase because of bad customer service. And here’s something you may not know: social CRM and mobile CRM applications are just as important as your CRM software.

Now that we’re done blowing your mind, let’s put it back together with some explanations. In short, social CRM and mobile CRM are modules, extensions and integrations for your CRM. They add powerful capabilities to your CRM strategy, creating a more dynamic product. Rather than focusing exclusively on sales, you can also be proactive in your customer engagement efforts. And instead of being stuck on your laptop, you can take your CRM system with you everywhere you go. Let’s dive a little deeper into these customer service-boosting modules:

What is a Social CRM?

Another thing you probably know: social media is huge today. It allows customers to engage in conversations about brands. More importantly for brands, it allows brands to engage in conversations with their customers. The problem with standalone CRMs is that they focus on tracking sales data, rather than simplifying engagement. Richard Hughes wrote in his article in CRMSearch that “Most CRM systems today are very much designed to help a company manage their customers, but they do very little to help engage them.” That’s where social CRM platforms come in: they bridge the gap between your CRM software and your social media presence. More relevant for your marketers, they enhance and simplify customer engagement.

What is a Mobile CRM?

Just to really hammer home the point, here’s one more thing you already know: mobile devices are huge. Not the devices themselves, but their popularity. People take their devices with them everywhere, and use them for seemingly everything. No longer are phones and tablets just for entertainment; they’ve become essential business tools.

Mobile CRMs let sales teams work on the go, making it easier for them to stay on top of their work. A study by Innoppl Technologies found that 65% of sales reps using mobile CRMs achieved their sales quota. This is opposed to only 22% of those not using mobile CRMs reaching their quota. Think about it: with a few taps and swipes, you can receive and post updates on customers and leads. What a time to be alive!

Do You Need Separate Social CRM Software?

Now here’s the first big question: should you start looking for a separate social CRM solution? After all, we stated its importance two paragraphs ago. So why wouldn’t you Google (or Bing — we don’t judge) “social CRM vendors” right now?

You can probably hold off on that search because you probably already have a CRM solution. And these days, most have a social CRM module built-in or have a module available to add-on. Rarely will you find a truly “standalone CRM,” as the market has increased its demand for more powerful features. In fact, Salesforce, Oracle, Sage, Infor and Microsoft Dynamics all have social CRM modules. That said, if you don’t have a CRM (for shame – you need one) or your vendor doesn’t have a module, you’ll want to look for social CRM software.

Do You Need Separate Mobile CRM Software?

Here’s the second big question: should you start looking for a separate mobile CRM app? As we mentioned, it’s a necessary CRM strategy these days. But the short answer is, just like for social CRM, probably not.

The five popular CRM systems we listed above provide their own mobile apps, extending their CRM to your mobile device. Available for iPhone and Android, these mobile CRM apps let you access customer service data anywhere. With the popularity of business mobile apps, chances are your vendor has a mobile CRM solution in place. If not, however, you can look at integrating a mobile-only vendor to enhance your CRM capabilities.

You can exponentially better your CRM strategy by using social and mobile CRM applications. Ask your vendor if they have modules available, and add them to your system if they’re not already included. One last thing you probably know: your customer relationship management will never be the same.